If the government’s proposal for a finance law becomes a reality, it will mean that in future there will only be one annual cruise with the school ship Georg Stage.
For the past three years, there have otherwise been two cruises a year with the school ship. But no money has been set aside for this in the proposal. The Georg Stages Minde Foundation, which operates the school ship, is in shock:
– Our students are promoted to jobs as soon as they go down the gangway, even though some of them have had difficulty fitting into the education system in the past, says director Asser Amdisen in a press release.
The school ship is a maritime school where young people are almost five months at sea as either deck or cooking students.
There is room for 62 young people, and to be able to get a place, you must have passed 9th grade and be between 17.5 and 22 years old.
Close to all students – 95 percent – complete the education, even though seven out of ten have previously dropped out of a youth or vocational education.
Two years later, virtually all students are in education or work, according to figures from the Ministry of Education and the Labor Movement’s Business Council.
The trade association Danske Rederier is also annoyed that there is no immediate prospect of two annual cruises.
– We are completely dependent on ensuring a constant influx of newly trained seafarers into the industry.
– Not least to the offshore shipping companies and short sea shipping, which now and in the coming years have a great need for manpower, says director Anne H. Steffensen in a comment.
She therefore hopes that other parties will take the request for two annual cruises to the negotiating table when a final agreement is to be reached.
The Finance Act is the state budget for the coming year. DKK 9.6 million has been set aside for the school ship George Stage next year. This year, it is budgeted with a grant of 12.5 million kroner.